Awayday to the metropolis

22 08 11 22:44

The Big City (i.e. Liverpool) is not a place we visit often, but last Saturday a group of four ventured to the metropolis at the invitation of the Lancashire area group of the Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers, to quote the long title. With three garden railways already in existence in the club, and a fourth seeking detailed planning permission, there is always interest in seeing how others do it. Also the length of run at Bob Bilsbarrow's excellent 45mm line allows visiting live steam locos to show off their paces without fear of suddenly running out of trackway. A certain care is needed when running multiple trains on the single-track-with-passing-places line to avoid traffic management incidents, but this merely adds to an already strong sense of realism.

An excellent afternoon, with hospitable hosts and a modest but friendly crowd. The rain was early but minimal and Liverpool won a famous victory away to Arsenal, so all was well.

Everton lost at home, so forewarned we returned to Southport another way.